There are many unwritten rules in the world of politics, one of them is that you don’t generally attack the staff.

This is, of course, an imperfect rule and rarely adhered to in our ever-growing hyper partisan world.

And sometimes political staff put themselves in the middle of a storm as a way to deflect from the politician they work for, warranting earned criticism.

But last week, our discourse — already eroded in part thanks to social media — took an ugly turn.

The back story:

The Doug Ford government has created what they call Ontario News Now. It’s a video clip shared on social media showcasing the achievements of the Ford government thus far.

Though this should not be paid for by taxpayers and needs some re-branding to not call it news, it’s hardly a new concept to spread what is essentially propaganda. The rationale is simple — create your own content and go over the heads of the mainstream media, who most governments believe are unfair.

Now-retired Toronto Star reporter Richard Brennan helpfully reminded us on Twitter last week the former NDP government under Bob Rae used to disseminate their own newspaper filled with their version of good news stories.

During the 2007 Ontario election, an aide to Dalton (McGuinty) sat at a news anchor’s desk taking shots at then PC leader John Tory under what was called “Liberal News” and “Liberal TV.”

Then, there is our Prime Minister Justin Trudeau whose official photographer (most prime ministers have had one) doesn’t miss a thing when it comes to capturing the daily moves of his boss. And in a gushing article in the Globe and Mail on the role of Trudeau’s photographer Adam Scotti, the author noted: “What’s different about Mr. Scotti is the way that his pictures are used. Never before has the role he plays been so influential in shaping the public perception of a Canadian politician.”

The point is, nothing new here, just the medium used.

Now, enter Deb Matthews, Ontario’s former deputy premier and health minister. Matthews who didn’t run for re-election, took to her social media in what can only be an attempt to stay relevant, targeted the young woman who hosts Ontario News Now, Lyndsey Vanstone.

Tweet screengrab from Deb Matthews, which has since been deleted.

Full disclosure, Vanstone is a personal friend and we have worked together in the past.

Matthews tweeted a screen grab of Vanstone, wearing an off the shoulder top (Oh, the horror!) and said, “Hey @qpfashun, any comments on this? I confess that, at first I thought she was naked!” The tweet has since been deleted.

In those few words, not only did Matthews shame Vanstone for doing her job, she also went where no politician — current or former — should; she went personal.

A lot of ink has been spilled about the value or not of Ontario News Now. But it has morphed into a personal excoriating of Vanstone. She’s been attacked for her looks, her education, her voice, her smile, her intelligence and her previous jobs, all because of her current role.

What’s more galling is when a former prominent politician who served in a failed government that didn’t miss a chance to talk about women empowerment and supporting young women, led a personal charge against Vanstone purely because she doesn’t agree with her political views.

What a stupid tweet. Did you really think she was naked? Wow. I'm a conservative, and I don't agree with spending money on this, but be a freaking grown up about it ma'am. Bunch of little children the lot of you

So, let’s be clear about the left, they loathe it when women who are conservative have a platform and unleash a mob to try to tear them down.

But with Vanstone, it won’t work. She’s one of the brightest and hardest working young women I know. Her continued success will be more fuel for the angry political left, so I hate to say she’d better get used to it.

It seems only appropriate to end with this timeless quote from British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher:

“I always cheer up immensely if an attack is particularly wounding because I think, well, if they attack one personally, it means they have not a single political argument left.”

This Week's Flyers

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.